The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Feb 1977
Effects of coronary bypass surgery on the electrical activity of revascularized myocardium. Immediate and early postoperativeobservations.
The effect of myocardial revascularization on bipolar epicardial electrograms was recorded with fixed wire electrodes from revascularized left ventricular sites and from control sites on the right ventricle. Studies were performed during and after surgery in 19 patients undergoing aorta-coronary bypass grafting for occlusive coronary artery disease and in 6 additional patients having aortic valve replacement for isolated aortic valve disease. In the latter 6 patients, neither left nor right ventricular electrogram voltage changed immediately following aortic valve replacement; however, left ventricular electrogram voltage gradually decreased for 5 days postoperatively. ⋯ These observed changes did not correlate with preoperative hemodynamics, number of grafts, graft flow rate, aortic cross-clamp time, cardiopulmonary bypass time, and the early postoperative course. These preliminary observations suggest that coronary bypass grafting does affect the electrophysiological state of the revascularized myocardium. However, the mechanism by which it occurs and its clinical implications remain to be determined.